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As the rainy season gradually gets to its peak with attendant flooding, stakeholders in agric and insurance sectors are expected to step up efforts to minimise losses that are peculiar to the season. Sunday Ojeme reports Last year, some agric sector stakeholders in the country lamented the grave losses by farmers to attacks on various […]
By Michael Jegede About a year after Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State assumed office, he launched the Agricultural Revolution Programme (ARP) as a move towards the actualization of his plan to revolutionize agriculture in the state. This was with a view to making Kogi self-sufficient in food production, boosting its income generation as well […]
The days of heaping 50kg sacks of rice across the saddle of their motorbike and slipping a few notes to a customs officer are now gone. With Nigeria having snapped its borders shut, the legions of motorbike riders who used to satisfy the nation’s hunger for imported rice are lucky at best to sneak through […]
Our soil is under threat. It’s estimated that we’ve got just 60 years of topsoil left, with 24 billion tons of fertile soil lost every year. With most of the food on our plate dependant on soil, its declining health is a major issue. “The word humans comes from the word humic, which means soil,” […]
Experts in the agriculture sector have warned that Nigeria may be hit by food crisis, except proactive measures were taken to change the tide of low agriculture inputs productivity in the country. The experts, both from Nigeria and other West African countries, said this in Abuja, during the national workshop for analysing agricinput supply chains […]
Agriculture which was the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy before the discovery of crude oil, from 1960 to 1969, accounted for an average of 57.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generated 64.5 percent of export earnings. JULIANA AGBO writes on the feasibility of the sector taking its pride of place as the mainstay of […]
When rice is smuggled into Nigeria, it is not all brought in bits that are hidden in weird vehicle compartments or as single bags. Many of these would have to be loaded into big trucks or barges. These large consignments of rice require proper roads and hence can be intercepted easily, if some Customs officers […]
If you aim to make a living off the land, consider one of these projects in profitable farming that will provide a good start and support longer-term ventures. Farming can be slow to grow as a business, so when you start a farm, you should include at least one high-profit venture. Such a venture in […]
The Green Alternative, a policy and strategy document of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture says, “The new policy regime, tagged the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP), is founded on the following guiding principles, a number of which are carryovers from the ATA, reflecting the strong desire for policy stability. New elements added reflect the lessons from […]
The Centre for Genomics Research and Innovation (CGRI) has said that the use of genomics methods would make the country self-sufficient in meat and dairy production. Prof Nash Oyekanmi, the director, CGRI, made this known in Ibadan during the second edition of the strategic research interest group meeting on livestock genetic improvement. Oyekanmi said that […]
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari was by profession a soldier. Like many retired military men, he is a farmer by vocation. Given his electoral promises, the situation of the country since he became president and his inclination to be seen as doing something rather than merely marking time by holding a ministerial portfolio, one would have expected […]
Poor diets are the number one risk factor in the global burden of disease: they account for one in five deaths globally. In higher income countries sugar, fat and red meat increase the risks of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. These usually kill people later in life. Meanwhile people in lower income countries struggle to […]
Africa is not winning the war to end hunger, says African Development Bank (AfDB) group president Dr Akinwumi Adesina. And Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced that Japan, through the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), will help double Africa’s rice production by 2030. Meanwhile, Japan and the AfDB […]
Mechanization powers the way to Africa’s sustainable development TICAD7 hears renewed calls for sustainable agricultural mechanization in Africa 30 August 2019, Yokohama – Agriculture is crucial to Africa’s development but needs increased mechanization to boost economic productivity, reduce harvest and post-harvest losses and meet growing demand for food. This is one of the messages that […]
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to block food importers’ requests for foreign currency in a bid to boost local agriculture in Africa’s most populous country. It is a continuation of a policy that the president began after coming to office in 2015, when he banned the use of foreign exchange […]